Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Social Media Masks

According to facebook even more friends are engaged now than 24 hours ago. See my post below.

It amazes me how many people seem to feel the need to post what they are doing on social media. I admit, as a blogger, I do the same thing. But rarely do I feel the need to share that I am buying a new shirt or post a picture of me doing something stupid the moment I do it. It seems as though most social media feeds itself, for no purpose other than to create an "advertisement" promoting the poster. I believe it was Shakespeare who wrote, "Me thinks thou dost post too much." Translated to modern day English: The more you say it (or post it) the less likely it is to be true. A perfect example is the "selfie". People take pictures of themselves to show how beautiful they are, or funny they are, or how great they are, or how much fun they are having, or to boast about their exciting party or vacation, etc... I remember a time when people just did things because they wanted to. Now it seems like people do something just to show other people. And like Shakespeare said, the more you say it, the less likely it is to be true. When I'm having fun, I'm in the moment. The last thing on my mind is that I need to take a picture of it and share it immediately with everyone so they know I am having fun. I propose that those who do are insecure and whatever the picture or post shows, reality is not as the picture makes it appear. I think there's insecurity and a need for affirmation behind most selfies and status updates.

Having said that, I pulled a minor facebook prank just to see who will bite. We'll call it a social experiment. I made a claim that isn't true. Anyone who knows me knows it isn't true. Those who've talked to me in the last couple days knows it can't be true. And yet I've gotten over 10 comments and over 70 "likes" from my lie. What did this prove? Reality and social media are 2 different things. Whether intentional or not, things on social media are not always what they seem. I'd hazard a guess that things are mostly not what they seem. Social media is more a mask for the user than a revelation. Even when we post honest things, our omissions create a false picture others see. I may honestly post all the great things happening in my life, but if I omit all the sad things too, I paint an unbalanced picture of sunshine and mountaintops, while ignoring shadows and valleys. The result is deceptive.

In case you follow me on facebook as well as here, no, I did not go to Hawaii for New Years.
Thanks for all well wishes. I promise everything else I post is true.

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